Elastomer coin receptacle



De l1, 1951 l.. L. HEADmcK ELASTOMER COIN RECEPTACLE Filed Sept. 8, 1949K .m R WM im Y@ WH. L m DH Y r LA EL J y B period of time.

Patented nec. 11, 1951 ELASTOMER COIN RECEPTACLE Lester L. Hleadrick,Mars, Pa., assignmof onehalf to Thomas L. Connolly, Wilkinsburg, Pa.

Application september s, 1949, serial No. 114,508

z claims. (ci. zoe- 0.84)

This invention relates generally to coin receptacles, and moreparticularly to a coin receptacle made from an elastomer material andhaving a suction cup thereon for the purpose of mounting the receptacleon a smooth surface such as the `glass surface of a windshield of anautomobile.

A large number of cities and towns are now provided with parking metersalong the sidewalks of the thoroughfare, in which meters one may deposita coin, such as a nickel or penny, to permit the individual to park hiscar for a certain Frequently one is apt to drive up to a parking meterand find that he doesnt have any change and he is therefore unable toleave his car for fear of getting a ticket for a parking violation. Thepresent invention is an elastomer coin receptacle that may be wetted andstuck on the Windshield in plain sight and having a series of slots forreceiving change in coins of different denomination, such as nickels,dimes and pennies. This receptacle being in plain sight, informs theoperator of the vehicle that he has or does not have a sufficient amountof money to permit him to park a predetermined length of time and he isapt to maintain the receptacle filled with coins so that it is alwayshandy to provide him with the necessary change for feeding a parkingmeter.

This coin receptacle is made of a fairly soft elastomer material such asrubber, synthetic rubber, plastic or other similar exible material. Itis provided with a suction cup forming a body and having a pair ofoutwardly projecting jaws spaced apart and provided with a series ofspaced parallel ribs forming slots therebetween to receive the coins,such as pennies, nickels and dimes. This receptacle may be placed on theinner face of the windshield of an automobile so that the driver isatall times appraised of the change that he has on hand for the purpose ofinserting'in a parking meter. If the receptacle is practically empty itis always there to remind him that it should be replenished in differentdenominations for use.

Again. the flexible jaws may be employed to hold a pipe or other similargoods and are found to be slightly larger than the spacing between thejaws to permit the latter to grasp and hold the article ready for use.

Other objects and advantages appear hereinafter in the followingdescription and claims.

The drawings show, for the purpose of exempliflcation without limitingthe invention or claims thereto, certain practical embodimentsillustrating the principles of this invention wherein:

. receptacle comprising this invention is made of an elastomer material,such as rubber, both natural or synthetic, or other flexible resinousmaterial having similar elastic characteristics. This receptaclecomprises the annular base I which is preferably made circular in formas shown in Fig. 1 and is dished out on its under side as illustrated at2. The perimeter of the annular base is provided with a sealing rim 3for the purpose of holding the suction against a smooth surface such asa polished wood or metal surface or glass. The annular base is providedwith an outwardly extending body member 4 which may be of any desiredshape and is formed integral with the base. Extending upwardly from thebody member 4 are a pair of spaced flexible arms 5 and 6 which extendparallel to one another forming the gap 'I therebetween. These arms maybe rectangular in cross section, as shown, or they may be substantiallythe full diameter of the annular base I. However, sucn a configurationof the arms is merely a matter of design, enhancing the beauty of thearticle.

The arms 5 and 6 and the intermediate portion 8 of the body member 4 areprovided with continuous ribs, such as shown at 9, I0, II, I2, I3 andI4, which produce slots I5 to I9, inclusive, therebetween, as shown onthe drawings.

The space l between the parallel arms 5 and 6 is substantially fiveeighths of an inch thereacross and the slots are approximatelythree-thirtyseconds of an inch deep and one-sixteenth of an inch wide.Dimensions such as these will cause a nickel or penny to slightly expandthe slot when inserted therein and also force the parallel arms 5 and Eslightly apart. The depth of the spacing 'l is approximatelythree-quarters of an inch from the inner-face of the ribs to the outerends of the arms. Thus, the slots in the arms 5 and 6 are of a selectedsize to provide a snug grip on the coin, such as a penny or a nickel.However, a dime fits fairly loosely in such a slot.

In use, this elastomer coin receptacle is wetted and the suction cup iscollapsed against a smooth surface, such as the inner surface of awindshield and permitted to remain thereon. The coins may be inserted inthe slots between the flexible jaws I and I either before or after theelastomercoin receptacle has been placed on the windshield. Thisreceptacle is at all times in full view of the vehicle operator and heis informed as to when he should replace the coins so that they will behandy forhim in parking the automobile.

The structure as shown in Fig. 4 is similar to that as shown in Figs. 1to 3, with the exception that the slots I5 to I9 are provided with anabutment 2l at each end thereof as illustrated in Fig. 4. Theseabutments permit the coin receptacle to hold a smaller coin such as adime which is ordinarily loose in the slot and can fall out forwardlybut for the abutments 2l.

While, for clarity of explanation, certain preferred embodiments of thisinvention have been shown and described, it is to be understood thatthis invention is capable of many modifications, and changes in theconstruction and arrangement may be made therein and certain parts maybe employed without conjoint use of other parts and without departingfrom the spirit and scope of this invention.

I claim:

1. -An integral elastomer coin receptacle to be detachably supported onobjects. comprising a body member, means to attach and support thebody-member in spaced relation to the object on which it is to bedetachably supported to permit flexibility of the body member, a pair offlexible arms extending outwardly from said body in'- parallel spacedrelation to each other, the surface of the body member extendingarcuately between the inner adjacent surfaces of said arms to form a cradle, a series of parallel ribs each extending continuously from theouter end of one arm and around the arcuate cradle surface of the bodymember to the puter end of the other arm to form a series of continuouscoin receiving slots,

of flexible arms extending outwardly from said.

body in parallel spaced relation to each other, the surface of the bodymember extending arcuately between the inner adjacent surfaces of saidarms to form a cradle, a series of parallel ribs each extendingcontinuously from the outer end of one arm and around the arcuate cradlesurface of the body member to the outer end of the other arm to form aseries of continuous coin receiving slots, said arms and body flexingwhen supporting a coin, and an abutment closing the end of each slot toaid in holding the coins in place.

f LESTER L. HEADRICK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNTTED STATES PATENTS

